Snow-removing apparatus



April 7, 1959 c. B. MERRY SNOW-REMOVING APPARATUS Filed April 11, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 'Cloyton B. Mrry April 1959 c. B. MERRY 2,880, 527

SNOW-REMOVING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-:Sheet 2 Filed April 11, 1955 INVENTOR. 2 Clayton B. Merry United States Patent-O 4 Claims. (Cl. 37-43) Wash. assignor Leavenworth,

This invention relates to snow-removing apparatus and has particular reference to a rotary snow plow attachment which is especially designed for mounting upon a tractor of the type having at the rear a power take-off and a laterally spaced pair of powered lift links arranged below and at either side of a draw bar fulcrum.

The dozer blade attachment has been relied upon primarily when utilizing a tractor for snow removal. When used for such a purpose the dozer blade has many limitations including the inability to throw snow, but nevertheless it has remained as the mainstay snow removal attachment for tractors.

The present invention therefore aims to provide an effective rotary snow plow attachment of inexpensive construction which will remove either wet or dry snow with a minimum of power consumption permitting the rotary elements of the attachment to be driven from the power take-off shaft of the fore-noted type of tractor as the latter is driven to advance the attachment into the snow to be removed. As a further object the invention aims to provide such an attachment which can be selectively raised and lowered by the lift links of the tractor. Although the present invention concerns itself with a tractor attachment, it is not intended that the scope be limited to a device driven by a tractor for the invention aims to provide an effective rotary snow plow which will clear a wide path with less power consumption than is required with those rotary snow plows of the general class which utilize augers to deliver the snow to a centrally located blower or other snow throwing unit.

With yet additional objects and advantages in view which, with the foregoing, will appear and be understood in the course of 'the following description and claims, the invention consists in the novel construction and in the adaptation and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed. v

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a front perspective view of my snow plow attachment complete with the optional discharge chute.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the snow' plow attachment in operative position connected to a tractor shown in broken lines.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the attachment'with part of the chain housing broken away and illustrating the drive and lift connections between the attachment and a tractor shown in broken lines; and

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of my snow plow attachment taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to Figs. 1 and 4, it can be seen that the frame proper of my snow plow includes generally U-shaped plate members providing oppositely directed coplanar flanges 10, 11 at their upper end from which depend front and back plates 12, 13. Seated on the flanges 10, 11 is an optional discharge chute 8 having triangular side panels having an angle iron border frame 9. The plates 12, 13 are spaced apart to provide the throat for a discharge manifold opening into the chute 8 and terminate respectively by a forwardly extendinghood 14 and a rearwardly projecting skid 15 spaced considerably below the hood. Welded to the .ends of the hood and to those portions of the ends of the back plate 13that lie below the level of the hood are a pair of end plates 16, 17. As best shown in Fig. 4, the bottom edge of each of these end plates is desirably sloped upwardly somewhat from its rear end.

The rear portion of the space between the end plates 16, 17 is subdivided by three equally spaced bafiles'18-20 which extend vertically for a distance and then curve to slope upwardly at about 45 degrees into the manifold throat between the front and back plates 12, 13 as can be seen in Fig. 2. A fourth baflle 21 slopes in like manner from the end plate 16 into the manifold throat. Each of these four baflles is welded along its rear edge to the back plate and also is welded to the front plate along the manifold throat occupying portion of its forward edge. t

The baflles 18-20 separate identical fans 22-25 each of which travels in a respective orbit that passes in close proximity to the bottom edge of the back plate 13 and from-thence upwardly in a direction corresponding to the upward slope of the bafiles to pass partly into the manifold throat. A satisfactory fan can be constructed by securing a centrally bored square reinforcing plate 26 to the rear end of a tubular hub 27 and then radiating flat blades 28 from the hub to-the corners of the "reinforcing plate. These blades are given a slight lead from their rear edges toward their direction of rotation and are welded to the reinforcing plate and to the hub.

The hubs of the fans 22-25 are locked by shear pins 29 to respective ends of shafts 30-33 which extend through the back plate into a chain housing 34. A sheet metal member of adequate gage is formed with a central angle section providing the floor 35 and back 36 of the chain housing and also provides a cover flange 37 and 3. depending anchoring flange 38 which is welded to the back plate. The cover flange 37 is complemented byone flange of an angle rail 40 having its other flange secured to the back plate. Seated on the angle rail 40 and the cover flange 37 is a flat cover plate 41 which is bolted in position. The chain housing is completed by a pair of end plates 42.

Each of the shafts 30-33 is supported by a respective pair of ball bearing units 43, 44, one mounted on the back plate 13 and the other on the back wall 36 as best shown in Fig. 4. Bolts 49 hold each bearing unit 44' in. place along with an end cap 45 in each instance excepting for the shaft 31 which extends rearwardly beyond the chain housing to make a universal connection 46 with anexpandable drive shaft 47 having a universal joint 39- at its other end. Each of the bearing units 43 is held by bolts 48 to the back plate and a complementing reinforcing ring 50. Spacing washers 51 are placed between 2118c fans and the rings 50 to protect the heads of the bolts To transfer power from the shaft 31 to shafts 30 and 1 32, a pair of sprockets 52', 52 are mounted on shaft 31,

assess? 'tionffrointhc. upper corners .of .the back plate whereas the legs 66, 67 slope upwardly from the lower corners of the back plate to make the intersections with the lower buds *of the braces 62, 63. At these intersections are s ecured onpositely projecting trunnion's 68, 69. The :skid plate '15 -rnay .be'ibraced by members 70.

Referring to Fig. 3 it is seen that I have illustrated in broken linesthe rear end portion of a tractor 'oflthe type having powered lift links 71, 72 arranged below and ateitherside of a'forked draw bar fulcrum 73. Directly below the latter is a power take-off. -My snow plow attachment is operatively mounted on the tractor by fitting eyes at the outer ends of the lift links 71, 72 over the trunnions 68, 69, making a drive connection between the tractors ipower take-off shaft and the universa] 39 "of the drive shaft '47, and interconnecting the forks 61 and the fulcrum 73 shy .pin connections with a draw -bar 74 .having suitable eyes at its ends. Locking pins 75 are providedifor the *outer ends of the' trunnions. It will he apparent that when my snow plow is thus mounted'on the tractor, the operator can raise and lower the snow plow at all by correspondingly powering the lift links 71, -72. At all times power can be selectively supplied to the fans 22-25 from the tractor via the drive shaft 47'to the fan shaft 31 and hence to the fan shafts '30, 32 and 33 through the chain and sprock'et drive arrangement in the chain housing.

It should be :noted that the direction of rotation of the fans and the :upper sloped portions of the baffles cooperate to guide snow "engaged by the blades 28 of therfans toward one .side of the snow plow. Use of the chute 81is recommended in dry snow conditions to aid this tsno'w .guiding action of the ba'flles "andfan blades, particularly "where "a wind is present opposing throwing of the snow The 'border frames 9 of the chute have a detachable .bolt connection with the flanges l0, 11 sothat the chute can be readily removed when Wet snow conditions are encountered in which the snow has a tendency to .pack. Such'wet snow is heavy enough that the ,guiding influence of the chute is not necessary, and in fact, the .chute m'ay be a deterrent because the wet snow frequently will adhere to and build up in the chute. Accordingly, it is seen that use of the chute isoptional de'pendingupon the type of snow to be removed and the wind condition.

:After rrny snow'plo'w has been mounted on the rear of 'the tractor as 'afore-described, the tractor operator commences .snow removal, after lowering the snow plow into ground adjacency, by backing the tractor While the fans 22-225 are powered from the 'power takemfi. 'As the tractor .is backed the rotating fans perforce advance into the snow iand cause the same "to be thrown upwardly and bufwardlywell toone side of the travel path of "the apparatus. 'Ih'effans are purposely left exposed to't'he grdun'd :surfaee therebeneath because "in wet snow con- 'd'it-ioiis this keeps the snow from packing, first "'ag'ain'st the llbwerfportion's fof'ithe back plate 13, battles 18 2'0 and end plates 16, 1 7 "-that lie outside of the fans rotationalorbits to form snow walls between the fans which are generally triangular when viewed from the front of the' snow plow, and then as a continuous wall bridging between these triangular snow walls in front of the fans making the latter useless. To elaborate, when the fans are exposed to the ground surface any snow packi'ng fhe'tween the llo'we'r half of the rotational orbits of the fans and 'thebafile's must-rubover the .ground sur- -face .as it attemptsto build .up and the resulting friction thereon causes the packing snow to break up and lose its bond with the snow plow structure and pass into the adjacent fan. When the snow to be cleared is deeper than the height of the fans, the tractor can make short passes with the fans at varying heights with respect to the ground surface, each pass having a maximum length determined by the distance Lfro'm the fans :to the rear wheels of the tractor so that these wheels will not track ever show to'be removed.

The advantages of the invention, it is thought, will have been clearly understood from the foregoing detailed idescr'ipti'o'n 6f the illus'trat'ed preferred embodiment. Minor changes will suggest themselves and may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention, wherefore it is my intention that no limitations be implied and that the hereto annexed claims be given 'a scope :tully commensurate with the broadest interpretation 1to whicharhe employed .l'ang'u'age "admits.

What -I claim is:

1. In a rotary show 'plow, a frame, a gang of fans journabmouiitedon said frame at the front thereof in close 'side-by-side Frelati'o'n about generally horizontal parallel axes :and tr acki'ng in close proximity to the bottom'leve'l 'of th'e "frame 'each said fan being exposed to the front 'and having its entire axial length exposed to the bottom, "means :for driving sa'id fans in a common direction or 1'0tali6il, a discharge 'm'anifold extending across the frame above said gang of "fans and having a botto'i'nthroat portionofi'cons'tant height partly occupied bya 'minor upper' par t-of the rotational orbit of each "fan, saidmanifoldincreasin in height above said throat P'o'rtio'n frofil a r'oot end at one side of'the frame to a discharge r 'ouih an the :other side of the frame and the direction of rotation -o"f "s'aid fans at the top of their rotational 'oibit's being toward said discharge mouth, baffles 'ear'riedfb y the fiam'e between said fans and at the "end of the gang below said root end, said baffles having their upper end portions extending into said throat portionand-be'nding toward said discharge mouth for directing snow thereto 'from the fans, and means for advancing said frame frontwis'e.

2. The structure 'of claim 1 in which a hood projects forwardly 'from'the base of said throat portion for the length of' 'the latter and-has end plates depending therefrom and extending rear wardlyto the back of the frame.

'3. The structure "of claim -2 in which the portion of said manifold above its said throat portion is detachable from "the latter. v

-4."1-he"'sttuctiife of fclaim -1 in which said baflles extend into said throat'portion -to'-a h'eight above that of the rotational bibi't's -'of the fans.

References Cited in the file of this patent 

